Empty Cradles (Oranges and Sunshine)

Oct 21, 2024 4:24 AM

Author:Margaret Humphreys

THE BOOK THAT EXPOSED THE HEARTBREAKING SCANDAL OF BRITAIN'S FORGOTTEN AND ABUSED CHILD MIGRANTS - now a film, Oranges and Sunshine, starring Emily Watson.

In 1986 Margaret Humphreys, a Nottingham social worker, investigated a woman's claim that, aged four, she had been put on a boat to Australia by the British government. At first incredulous, Margaret discovered that this was just the tip of an enormous iceberg. Up to 150,000 children, some as young as three years old, had been deported from children's homes in Britain and shipped off to a 'new life' in distant parts of the Empire, right up until as recently as 1970.

Many were told that their parents were dead, and parents were told that their children had been adopted. In fact, for many children it was to be a life of horrendous physical and sexual abuse far away from everything they knew. Margaret and her team reunited thousands of families before it was too late, brought authorities to account, and worldwide attention to an outrageous miscarriage of justice.

Reviews

It is a story that defies belief.

—— Independent

The secrets of the lost children of Britain may never have been revealed if it had not been for [the actions of] Margaret Humphreys.

—— Sunday Times

A modern Florence Nightingale.

—— Sydney Morning Herald

A truly astonishing, haunting, real-life detective story.

—— She (Australia)

Brought tears to my eyes. It is impossible to read...without thinking "These could be my parents. These could be my children."...Despite the sadness and anger at its centre, hope remains the principle message of this remarkable book.

—— The Times

As rich and informative a community study as one could hope to get

—— Urban Studies

It offers the same switchback exhilaration as Morrison's comic books

—— Sunday Herald

As a writer for Batman and Superman, Grant Morrison is in the perfect place to analyse the rise and fall of the superhero

—— Sunday Times

Morrison makes a passionate and knowledgeable tour guide through comics' golden age

—— The Times

Whatever your views on Grant's own creative output which I find both dazzling and, on occasions, daunting, no one can deny the man's blistering intelligence and throughout his career he has never ceased from innovation. Each new project makes readers sit up and think and I imagine many of his peers have felt the same way. Similarly this 400-page history of and tribute to this medium's meta - humans will give you much to ponder, and I don't think any true fan of the genre, as I have been since five, can afford to be without its illuminating torch

—— Page 45

If this were just Morrison's story, the reminiscences of an original Scots thinker who works in a medium that silly people scorn, it would be worth your time. The sections detailing the writer's relationship with his father are especially touching. What makes this book exceptional is the history of comics that comes with the history of Morrison... As a superhero fan, I found this a diverting read. As a people fan, I found it unputdownable

—— Scotsman

Authoritative overview of the genre...detailed and thoughtful

—— Spectator

Morrison's analysis of how comic books have reflected and influenced mainstream culture is never less than intriguing, and his turn of phrase is often a joy

—— Robert Colville , Daily Telegraph

This is entertaining stuff

—— Sunday Times, Christmas Round Up

Butterworth's fascination with his subject drips from the page...this is entertaining stuff

—— Dominic Sandbrook , Sunday Times

An astounding story of bitter civil warfare that raged across many countries for decades. Butterworth's passionate account of the anarchist movements born in the late 19th century describes a conflict that spawned its own "war on terror"

—— Steve Burniston , Guardian

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